Weather in Hong Kong

Hong Kong experiences a sub tropical climate for almost six months, this is influenced by the monsoons that occur during that time of year. Many regard November and December as the best times of the year due to the great temperature and refreshing breezes. Winter time in Hong Kong cools down, but rarely below 0 degrees C in the Urban areas and snowfall is extremely rare.

Hong Kong has four seasons: a cool and dry winter, unstable and wet spring, hot and humid summer, and warm and pleasant autumn. Hong Kong is affected by both cool northeast monsoons and warm maritime airstreams. Most of the rainfall occurs from May to September, which is the rainy season.

Winter starts sunny in November and becomes cloudier towards February. In the winter, the weather is generally cool, with temperatures hovering between 15-19 °C. However, northeast winter monsoons bring frequent cold spells, which can cause the temperature to dip below 10 degrees in urban areas, despite Hong Kong's coastal location just below the Tropic of Cancer. The lowest temperature ever recorded was 0.0 °C, and subzero temperatures have been recorded in the northern New Territories and on high ground. Conversely, warm maritime airstreams also commonly raise the temperature above 20 °C. Temperatures as high as 28 °C have been recorded in February. The coldest months (December and January) is cool with temperatures ranging from about 14-18 degrees.

Spring brings warmer and more humid weather. It is cooler than autumn, but it is the most humid time of the year. There is a sharp increase in rainfall around April. Temperatures are also noticeably rising with an average temperature of 19 degrees in March to about 26 degrees in May, from mild to warm. Spring weather is very unstable; it could be very warm on one day, and cool on the next. The average minimum temperature of the whole season is 20 degrees. March starts off as cold as December, but gradually warms up to become mild at the end of the month. The average temperature range is about 17-21 degrees, but there are significant temperature variations throughout the month, ranging from below 10 degrees to above 25 degrees at times. April is warm with temperatures ranging from about 20-25 degrees. The average rainfall is about 175mm, about 90mm more than March. May is hot with temperatures ranging from about 24-28 degrees. Spring is the cloudiest time of the year, with March and April both averaging only around 100 hours of bright sunshine.

Summer weather is hot, humid and unstable. Thunderstorms and brief showers are common, as well as sunny conditions. June has the highest average rainfall of any month. Temperatures usually exceed 30 °C during the day, which, coupled with a high humidity, can result in an extreme heat index. Extreme heat indices are also caused by continuous sunshine and low breeze, usually last long around July and August, is a result in subtropical high pressure areas. This also occurs before typhoons hitting Hong Kong or nearby regions in the northeast, e.g. Taiwan or Eastern Coast of China, such outbound airstream bring even hotter weather, in addition to dirtier air. Nights are also warm with an average minimum temperature of 26 °C. Hong Kong is frequently hit by typhoons in summer.

Autumn is generally considered as the most pleasant season. Temperatures are still high (22–27 °C) while humidity and rainfall are considerably lower. Moreover, autumn is the sunniest season in Hong Kong, with October and November both averaging close to 200 hours of bright sunshine. There is a big decrease in rainfall around October while temperatures are gradually decreasing from hot to warm, from about 28 degrees at September to a pleasant 21.8 degrees at November. Late October to early December is considered the best time to visit. September is hot with temperatures ranging from about 26-30 degrees. It is also slightly drier than August with an average humidity of 78%. October is warm with temperatures ranging from about 23-28 degrees. November is mild-warm with temperatures ranging from about 19-24 degrees.

For more information please visit the Government Observatory Website>>